Vectorcardiography is a method to calculate, for each time instant, the magnitude and direction of electrical forces generated by the heart, commonly referred to as the resultant cardiac, or heart, vector, as sensed by electrical leads mounted on the skin surface of a patient. A vectorcardiogram (VCG) presents a compact three-dimensional (3D) view of the depolarization, or depolarization cycle, of the heart. The resultant cardiac vector may be viewed as three (3) projections of the polarization event of the heart on the coronal (frontal), transverse (horizontal) and sagittal (vertical) plane or directly as a vector. Vectorcardiography is presently used mostly for didactic purposes to teach students of biomedical sciences, physiological aspects of electrocardiography. The 3-lead VCG and the 12-lead ECG (electrocardiogram) present the same comprehensive diagnostic information concerning the electrical activity of the heart, albeit in different formats.
To the trained clinician, an ECG conveys a large amount of information about the structure of the heart and the function of its electrical conduction system. Among other things, an ECG can be used to measure the rate and rhythm of heartbeats, the size and position of the heart chambers, the presence of any damage to the heart's muscle cells or conduction system, the effects of cardiac drugs and the function of implanted pacemakers.
Current ambulatory monitoring systems have limited monitoring capability\ and do not have the diagnostic-quality monitoring fidelity of the 12-lead ECG, sometimes referred to as the “gold standard” for electrocardiography in the medical industry. Additionally, 12-lead ECG machines contain wires that connect the leads to the ECG machine, thereby restricting patient mobility and rendering the ECG machines nearly impossible to be used by the patient outside the clinic or hospital.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is an improved integrated vectorcardiogram system and methodology that facilitates continuous, real-time, comprehensive, unobtrusive, remote, diagnostic-quality cardiac monitoring. However, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the field of this invention how the shortcomings of the prior art could be overcome.